The subject matter of this specification relates to rating websites on the internet.
The availability of web development applications has made it easy for Internet users to publish websites to express their views. For instance, a number of online services offer free web hosting and web log (“blog”) hosting. These services enable anyone with Internet access to publish a blog within a few minutes. This has led to a dramatic increase in the number of websites on the Internet. These websites are of varying quality.
The increase in the number of published websites and the unprecedented access to the Internet have helped increase the popularity of using search engines to find information. Users can receive a list of websites related to a topic by entering a search string associated with the topic, thereby reducing the time required to find information. However, with the increased number of websites on any given topic, a search is not guaranteed to result in a list of quality websites. This is particularly true for blogs, which can be used for various purposes by the publishers. Some blog publishers merely use blogs to publish poorly drafted content or repost information found on other websites, while other publishers use blogs to express unique views regarding popular topics. Therefore, a search for a topic can produce a list of websites, but the quality of the websites listed can vary.